Pastor's Notes - 02/24/2019

I wanted to share the requirements for Extraordinary Eucharistic Ministers since they are so much or a part of our liturgies and since more are now visiting the homebound in our community.

From the Archdiocese here are some of the requirement for being a Extraordinary Eucharistic Minister:

Communion ministers need to possess a love of the Eucharist and be living lives consistent with the teachings of the Church. Their role is not to be visibly confused with the distinct roles of others such as the deacon, reader, cantor or servers.

In the Archdiocese of St. Louis the minimum age for communion ministers is eighteen (as of Oct. 1997). The ministry is open to both women and men. Published materials are readily available for the training and continuing education of communion ministers.

Communion ministers may exercise their ministry during Mass, and to the homebound outside Mass. When pastoral need warrants it, they may also distribute communion at a liturgy of the word. They may fulfill their ministry in any parish or institution of the archdiocese with the approval of the local pastor. They need to see their role as ministers of both the bread and the cup.

Priests and deacons are the ordinary ministers of communion. Extraordinary ministers assist when necessary. Parishes need to have a sufficient number of ministers to provide for the needs of the community.

All ministers need to be properly trained in both the practice and the theology of their ministry before beginning. Communion is to be distributed according to the correct liturgical norms and with due reverence shown to the Blessed Sacrament.

Communion ministers are not simply distributing items to individuals but participating in an essential moment in the mystery of faith, a moment of inviting others and self to recognize and reverence the body of Christ in its many dimensions. This is reflected in the Church's regulations that ministers are to announce “The body of Christ” never “This is the body of Christ.”

With regard to the homebound, it is best for the priest to visit them to explain the service of the extraordinary ministers. The priest normally introduces the ministers to the people they will serve. This practice of bringing communion to the homebound is best exercised on the Lord's Day. A priest continues to visit them periodically to anoint them and to celebrate reconciliation.